Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called the Ukrainian leadership illegitimate and said it was senseless to sign any documents with them.
He said the Kyiv leadership lost legitimacy after refusing to hold elections when Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s elected term expired. Kyiv says it cannot hold elections while under martial law and defending its territory against Russia’s ongoing military aggression.
This Russian argument doesn't hold water. In reality, it represents what everyone already knew: the Russians don't want to negotiate because they are convinced of a decisive victory in Ukraine.It’s interesting how many Western news agencies only brought up how Putin views the Ukr.-US peace plan as a basis for future talks. Yet they didn’t mention this (kudos to Reuters):
I think this is just another battle within the war of words and, in a way, an attempt to sow further division between Ukraine+EU and Trump. Trump has always been impatient about getting this deal passed as fast as possible.This Russian argument doesn't hold water. In reality, it represents what everyone already knew: the Russians don't want to negotiate because they are convinced of a decisive victory in Ukraine.
Zelensky himself, even though he has become an aspiring dictator, is still following the interpretative line of the Ukrainian constitution. Of course, if there were elections now, Zelensky would probably be defeated, but the Rada has already put an end to this supposed illegality of the current Ukrainian government.
The fact is that there is no plausible argument to claim the illegitimacy of the Ukrainian government, something that even violates Ukraine's sovereignty.
That won't set well with the white supremacists of the Ukrainian Army.Filipinos are allegedly being targeted by US recruiters to fill in the manpower shortage in Ukraine. Its possible that supply of mercs from Colombia has decreased significantly.
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